As a big fan of retellings and of the Donnelly's previous book Stepsister I had high hopes for this Snow White inspired story. Unfortunately however it didn't quite live up to expectations. It may just have been a case of wrong book at the wrong time but it never really grabbed me in the same way Stepsister did and I found my concentration wandering a little as I was reading.
I have to confess the Snow White fairytale is probably not one that I know particularly well, and there are surprisingly few retellings of it too, so I can't really say how closely this story follows the original but there are certainly a lot of familiar elements. There is the young Princess Sophie, her "evil" stepmother, a magic mirror, 7 short men and a handsome prince but Donnelly has put her own spin on them and things are not always exactly as they seem.
I loved the way the author added a feminist slant to a lot of these elements, with Sophie judged to weak to rule a kingdom alone due to her sex and her stepmother constantly having to prove her worth as queen for example. I also loved how other mythological elements were woven into the story, with the King of Crows and his sister a sinister presence in the background.
In terms of the characters, I found main character Sophie a little on the annoying side and I suspect this may be the main reason I didn't completely take to this story. She's just a little too much, too emotional, too naive, too impatient and too trusting and a lot of what she does comes across as silly and reckless. She doesn't seem to listen or learn and relies on everyone else to save her, something I found incredibly frustrating to read. There are "reasons" and she did develop and grow on me but it was all very last minute.
I did like a few of the other characters but I would have liked to see them fleshed out a little more and given more to do. Although the same probably applies to the story itself.
It is a pretty action packed read and there's a lot that happens to Sophie but it feels at times like things are resolved or obstacles overcome a little too easily. Again this may just have been the mood I was in whilst reading but I would have liked a little more struggle and some more feels.
Overall it is a good read and I'll definitely pick up whatever Donnelly writes next but not as good as I hoped.
I have to confess the Snow White fairytale is probably not one that I know particularly well, and there are surprisingly few retellings of it too, so I can't really say how closely this story follows the original but there are certainly a lot of familiar elements. There is the young Princess Sophie, her "evil" stepmother, a magic mirror, 7 short men and a handsome prince but Donnelly has put her own spin on them and things are not always exactly as they seem.
I loved the way the author added a feminist slant to a lot of these elements, with Sophie judged to weak to rule a kingdom alone due to her sex and her stepmother constantly having to prove her worth as queen for example. I also loved how other mythological elements were woven into the story, with the King of Crows and his sister a sinister presence in the background.
In terms of the characters, I found main character Sophie a little on the annoying side and I suspect this may be the main reason I didn't completely take to this story. She's just a little too much, too emotional, too naive, too impatient and too trusting and a lot of what she does comes across as silly and reckless. She doesn't seem to listen or learn and relies on everyone else to save her, something I found incredibly frustrating to read. There are "reasons" and she did develop and grow on me but it was all very last minute.
I did like a few of the other characters but I would have liked to see them fleshed out a little more and given more to do. Although the same probably applies to the story itself.
It is a pretty action packed read and there's a lot that happens to Sophie but it feels at times like things are resolved or obstacles overcome a little too easily. Again this may just have been the mood I was in whilst reading but I would have liked a little more struggle and some more feels.
Overall it is a good read and I'll definitely pick up whatever Donnelly writes next but not as good as I hoped.